Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.

Friday, October 21, 2005

When author Dan Dagget gave a talk recently at the annual Bioneers Conference, near San Francisco, he began by asking audience members if they had taken care of their environmental responsibilities that day. Had any of them gone hunting in a pack? Started a grass fire? Piled rocks in a gully? Chased any bison off a cliff? In response, some people jumped to their feet and walked out of the auditorium. This didn't surprise the former Earth First! activist. Dagget has been causing people discomfort ever since the early 1970s when he fought strip mines in his native southeastern Ohio. Over the years, he has become something of a professional provocateur, tilting at sacred windmills right and left. His Pulitzer Prize-nominated book "Beyond the Rangeland Conflict" (1995), for example, challenged the long-standing idea that environmentalists and ranchers in the American West held incompatible goals, earning him a great deal of teeth-gnashing from all sides of the grazing debate as a result. The reaction to his latest book "The Gardeners of Eden: Rediscovering Our Importance To Nature" (2005) will likely be no different. In it, Dagget argues that we have become aliens on our own planet. Once upon a time, he argues, humans enjoyed a mutualistic relationship with nature. In much the way that bees depend on flowers, beavers on creeks, and wolves on elk, ecosystems evolved in the presence of humans and began to depend on them, over time, to set fires, apply hunting pressure, and cultivate the soil. We were gardeners in Eden – natives living with, and using, nature symbiotically (despite the occasional mega fauna extinction). No more....

Maps matter. They chronicle the struggles of empires and zoning boards. They chart political compromise. So it was natural for Republican Congressional aides, doing due diligence for what may be the last battle in the fight over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, to ask for the legally binding 1978 map of the refuge and its coastal plain. It was gone. No map, no copies, no digitized version. The wall-size 1:250,000-scale map delineated the tundra in the biggest national land-use controversy of the last quarter-century, an area that environmentalists call America's Serengeti and that oil enthusiasts see as America's Oman. The map had been stored behind a filing cabinet in a locked room in Arlington, Va. Late in 2002, it was there. In early 2003, it disappeared. There are just a few reflection-flecked photographs to remember it by. All this may have real consequences. The United States Geological Survey drew up a new map. On Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee passed a measure based on the new map that opened to drilling 1.5 million acres of coastal plain in the refuge. The missing map did not seem to include in the coastal plain tens of thousands of acres of Native Alaskans' lands. On the new map, those lands were included, arguably making it easier to open them to energy development....

Feds file complaint against anti-wolf activist An anti-wolf activist in central Idaho whose Web site tells how to poison wolves has been charged with placing bait with intent to kill wolves, and unauthorized use of a pesticide on U.S. Forest Service land. Federal authorities filed the complaint Oct. 13 against Tim Sundles of Carmen. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court on Tuesday in Pocatello. Both charges are misdemeanors and each carries a maximum penalty of a $100,000 fine and six months in jail. The bait charge is a violation of the Endangered Species Act. Sundles, an ammunition-maker critical of the federal government for returning wolves to Idaho, said he views the charges as retribution for his anti-wolf activism....Forest Service action irks lawmakers A group of Western lawmakers is demanding an explanation from the U.S. Forest Service after the agency responded to a federal court ruling last month by suspending hundreds of activities on Forest Service land, including mushroom picking and Christmas-tree cutting. "The Forest Service is overreacting and needs to revisit this overreaching directive," said Lawrence Pacheco, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Boulder. On Tuesday, U.S. Reps. Udall and John Salazar, D-Manassa, and U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., sent a sharply worded letter to Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, who oversees the Forest Service. "It is unsurprising that our constituents have told us that they believe the agency is deliberately overreacting to the court's decision," the lawmakers wrote. In a separate letter to President Bush, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., accused the administration of advancing its political goals by "causing maximum disruption to persons and economies that rely on access to the National Forests for non-controversial activities such as hunting."....Judge delays decision on easement for coal-bed methane water A judge delayed issuing an easement that would allow a coal-bed methane developer to release water into South Prong Barber Creek, saying he might need a survey to tell him exactly where the easement should be. "I authorized a pre-condemnation entry and assumed a survey would be done," 8th Judicial District Judge Keith G. Kautz said during Wednesday's hearing. "If I send appraisers out, I have to tell them where to go." Kautz gave developer Williams Production RMT Co. one week to conduct the survey or present arguments why they shouldn't have to. Rancher William P. Maycock II had challenged the company's plans to release water from their coal-bed methane operation into the creek, saying the discharged water would change the character of the creek and ruin the creek bed where his cattle graze. But the company said once they had legally discharged water into a waterway, that water became the property of the state, and no private citizen had the right to stop it. Kautz ruled in favor of the company last week, and company officials asked the court for a 20-foot-wide easement down a 10-mile length of the creek....BLM holding meetings to draw map of future energy corridors across West Federal land managers take their first public step next week in plotting routes across the West for billions of dollars worth of future powerlines and oil and natural gas pipelines to connect the region's vast energy reserves with consumers in the nation's fastest-growing cities. The Bureau of Land Management holds a public meeting Tuesday in Denver, followed by 10 additional sessions culminating in Phoenix and Seattle on Nov. 3, to help it draw up energy transmission and distribution corridors, a requirement of the 2005 energy bill signed Aug. 8 by President Bush. Total U.S. energy demand is expected to grow by some 1.9 percent a year until 2025, and the West has seen unprecedented growth in oil and natural gas production, wind prospecting and plans for new coal-fired power plants in states including Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada and North Dakota. As a result, Congress has ordered maps of where upgraded and new electricity transmission facilities are to be built, to expedite the construction of links to energy-hungry cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Seattle....First Lady promotes parks during visit First lady Laura Bush dropped in on Denver Thursday, first for a Republican National Committee fundraiser, then for a brief speech on behalf of a foundation that supports national parks. But the first lady's second stop was at the Phipps Mansion in Denver, where she appeared along with U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton to praise the work of the National Parks Foundation and a youth program known as Junior Rangers. "As I flew . . . from Washington this morning and looked out at our beautiful country, I was reminded again how important it is that we introduce America's young people to our national parks and the outdoors," Bush said....Group files lawsuit over desert species An environmental group on Thursday filed a lawsuit asking a judge to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide if rare desert species deserve special protection. The Center for Biological Diversity sent petitions in 2002 and 2004 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to see if the agency would protect 17 species -- bees, beetles, sand wasps and others -- under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The animals live only at the Algodones Dunes, a favorite off-roading area in Imperial County. The agency is supposed to determine in 90 days if any petition warrants further action, the lawsuit said....County to U.S.: Act on bird or we'll sue The Coos County Board of Commissioners has put the U.S. Department of the Interior on official notice: If it doesn't soon change the restrictions guarding the threatened marbled murrelet, the county will file a lawsuit. “We're talking about real money and real jobs that are at risk the longer it takes fish and wildlife to make a decision,” Coos County Chairman John Griffith said Wednesday. The commissioners want to prod U.S. Fish and Wildlife to take action on data made public in September 2004, when the agency acknowledged that its classification of murrelets as a “distinct population segment,” was suspect. The classification was a key condition on the road to being protected under the 1973 endangered species act....Saving tiny delta fish carries heavy price tag, report says Saving the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish considered a key indicator of the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a report to be released Thursday. The price tag includes projects that also could aid other troubled species and the overall ecology of the delta, which provides drinking water to more than 70 percent of Californians. Options to restore the population and their costs vary, according to the 14-point recovery plan obtained by The Associated Press. The report, developed by the state Department of Water Resources and Department of Fish and Game, also said further research could affect decisions on what actions to take....Groups protest gold test pits A historic preservation group and three environmental groups are appealing to the U.S. Department of the Interior, hoping to stop a Canadian company from looking for placer gold in the historic South Pass area. Meanwhile, the company has sent a reclamation bond to the state, a requirement before exploration can begin. The Alliance for Historic Wyoming, together with the Sierra Club, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and the Wyoming Outdoor Council, have filed an appeal with the Interior Board of Land Appeals. They say the Bureau of Land Management failed to consider the impacts a Dickie Springs gold mine would have on the area’s historical landscape....Judge orders Interior IT system shutdown A judge has ordered the Interior Department to disconnect all information technology systems that access Indian trust fund data because the systems are vulnerable to hacker attacks. Today, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth granted American Indian plaintiffs a motion for a preliminary injunction to shut down all computers, networks, handheld computers and voice-over-IP equipment that access trust fund data. The injunction prohibits Interior employees, contractors, tribes and other third parties from using those systems. Interior’s IT security has been the focus of a nine-year class-action lawsuit that criticizes the department’s oversight of Indian trust funds. Plaintiffs have accused Interior officials of failing to properly protect data....Montana ranchers end fight on beef checkoff A Montana ranching couple said they are finished fighting the U.S. Department of Agriculture over a $1-per-head fee on cattle. Steve and Jeanne Charter have asked a federal judge here to dismiss their case and end an 8-year battle over the beef checkoff. The couple said Thursday that pursuing the matter further in court would have been expensive and futile, particularly in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in May that upheld the fee and the government's right to force ranchers to pay it. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard the Charter case, said there was still room for the Shepherd-area cattle producers to challenge the checkoff as unconstitutional for the way it's carried out. But an attorney for the Charters, Kelly Varnes, said proving that would have been difficult. For example, the ranchers would have had to prove that they - as individual producers - were tied to the message disseminated by beef ads funded with checkoff dollars....Historic cabin in Rincons turns 100 Levi Manning, who came to Tucson from Mississippi in 1883, left his mark on Tucson business and local politics as well. He also left his name on two of southern Arizona's landmarks, the Manning House in the heart of what used to be called Tucson's Snob Hollow, and Manning Cabin, high among the pines of the Rincon Mountains. On Sunday, Saguaro National Park - which includes the Rincon Mountains - will host an afternoon of celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of building the cabin, said Meg Weesner, chief of science and resources management for the park. The cabin is a beautiful structure, Weesner said. "It's made of logs, probably cut on site. It's about 60 feet long and 20 feet wide." There is a spring-fed pond near the cabin that probably supplied water for the Mannings and later inhabitants....

If you would like the complete set of comments from the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association hit the email me button to your left (flankcinch@hotmail.com) and I will send you their comments as a word doc. Please put Oil & Gas Comments in the subject line.

This proposal violates all four of the 4C's philosophy of Secretary Norton. I don't know who the deep thinkers are in the White House-Vice-President-Interior-BLM offices who made the stupid political decision to take on the private landowners and BLM permittees in the West. If their intent was to split the resource users and their base of support in the West, they will certainly accomplish that if they implement this proposal. And ain't it wonderful to see a Republican White House preempt 12 state laws that were designed to protect their citizens' property rights.

Below is an email from Caren Cowan of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association and a proposed comment letter prepared by that organization.

Comments are due on the BLM's proposed revision to Onshore Order #1 on MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2005. NMCGA has, with the help of Anne Kathryn Ziehe and Laurie Goodman, prepared an extensive set of comments, which are attached.

Additionally, we have paired down the comments for individuals who want to submt comments too. These comments are attached (the GEN file) and pasted below.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that we get lots of comments in on this issue. It appears that the revisions in the rule will negate the intent of the "New Mexico Language" Senator Domenici put in the recently passed and signed Energy Bill.

The comments contain the address for mailing or emailing comments. If you email, be sure you put the Attn: AD59 in the subject line.

Also attached is the original Federal Register notice on the Order in case you care to read it and other comments. There was a comment extension which appeared in the Federal Register on August 26. I have not included it because all it did was extend the comment deadline.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the above captioned rule-making. I certainly understand the importance of a reliable energy supply for our nation. I also understand that oil and gas operators have a legitimate interest in mineral development. However surface values and property rights must at the same time be protected. Surface owners have an important personal and monetary interest in their land and water equal to the mineral interest. “Reasonable use” by a mineral owner must not provide the right to destroy, interfere with, or damage the landowner’s rights to the surface and its’ attendant water. It is unreasonable and unfair to expect landowners to bear the economic and environmental costs of energy production in this country.

Current law allows a “taking” of landowner rights. Exploration for development, production and transmission of mineral and energy resources can result in damage, lost value and loss of use of other real property and surface resources. Concern for protecting land values, surface resources, property rights and water quality requires that NMCGA submit the following comments to the joint proposed rule to revise existing Oil & Gas Order Number 1 (Order). The proposed changes in general do not promote fundamental fairness to the surface estate, nor do they reflect the understanding of the issue that Congress expressed in the recently passed Energy Bill or that Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton has expressed in meetings with landowners. The issue has become so important that some nine (9) states have enacted their own legislation to address the problems, with several other states contemplating similar action.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) states that this proposed rule is necessary to reflect changes in the 1983 Order pursuant to the 1987 Federal Onshore Oil & Gas Leasing Reform Act, legal opinions, court cases since the Order was first issued, and other policy and procedural changes, including a 1988 staff memo from the Associate Solicitor of Energy and Resources entitled “Legal Responsibilities of BLM for Oil and Gas Leasing operations on Split Estate Lands.” The actual effect of the proposed rulemaking appears to be a federal effort to elevate the legal standing of the existing 1983 Order; to re-enforce the federal government’s dominance over the procedure to access federal minerals under private lands; and to limit negotiated damages to said private lands to the limitations set forth in the 1916 Stock Raising Homestead Act and other relevant Homesteading provisions, rather than the broader provisions being included in state statutes (including the 1979 North Dakota Act, the 1981 Montana Act and the 2005 Wyoming Surface Owner Accommodation Act). This is in violation of several Executive Orders, as explained below, and of this Administration’s overall commitment to state’s rights, federalism, private property rights, and the empowerment of the private individual.

Comments on text of proposed Order (Appendix pages 43356-43364)

II Definitions

The definition of “Split Estate” should include lands where the surface is leased from the federal government. If the BLM is notifying a surface owner of operator activities, why – in fairness – can they not also inform a surface lessee? The Executive Order of August 26, 2004, instructs federal agencies to take “appropriate account of and respect the interests of persons with ownership or other legally recognized interests in land and other natural resources” in their implementation of laws relating to natural resources.

III. B.

Early notification for a planning conference as soon as the operator has identified a potential area of development is only voluntary – why? Such early notification should be mandatory. Notification should be the rule, with the exception being a situation where an owner cannot be located. In addition to simple fairness, as the order itself states, this could help all parties in identifying unusual conditions of the land, time-sensitive issues and potential areas of conflict.

III. C. 1.

Requires an agency give at least 30 days public notice before approval of an APD in an area of the BLM field office readily accessible to the public – why not also inform the surface owner and any federal lessees of the surface directly? This seems only fair and not an undue burden on BLM. Open government surely includes the right to easily discover federal actions that directly affect the individual’s interest in land.

III.C. 2(b)

BLM will coordinate with private surface owners within 10 days of APD package to schedule a date for onsite inspections – “as soon as practicable based on schedules and weather conditions.” The Federal Register’s notice “Discussion of Major changes” interprets this flexibility in scheduling of onsite inspection as allowing BLM to take into account “the availability of … the surface owner if split estate is involved” and that the BLM, rather than the operator, is now “responsible for inviting surface owners to participate in onsite inspections.”

These changes only shift the invitation requirements to the BLM. As discussed further in comments to Section III. F and VI. (below) this invitation to observe, without any sort of real involvement in the process, does not satisfy the needs of a potentially damaged surface owner.

III. C. 2(c)

While it is now clear that NO final decisions will be made until the regulatory requirements of the ESA, NHPA and NEPA have been satisfied, it should not violate the opinion of the 1988 memo (which prompted this change) to consider and adopt landowner suggestions and concerns to the extent they do not violate the above statutory requirements.

III.E

“Best management practices (BMPs) are voluntary unless they have been analyzed as mitigation measure in the NEPA process.” Why are BMPs only required when part of mitigation in the NEPA process? This seems illogical and promotes less than desirable management practices within agency regulations!

III. E. 1(a)

Surveying staking and Inventories “may be done without advance approval from the Surface Managing Entity” but entry should not occur on private lands without the “operator first making an effort to obtain approval from the surface owner.” What kind of effort? It doesn’t seem burdensome to require a substantial effort to inform a landowner – and have a procedure to allow entry after considering the conflict (which BLM could mediate) or where an owner cannot legitimately be located.

III. E. 3(a)(1)

“The operator should consider using best management practices in improving or maintaining existing roads.” In (b), the operator may consider using BMPs in designing road construction. As mentioned above, why is the BLM codifying in its regulations anything less than the best of management practices for operators utilizing either federal or private surface?

III. E. 3(j)

An operator may amend his plan for surface reclamation at the time of abandonment – yet no notice must be given to a surface owner then or at ANY stage of the reclamation process. What burden is it on the operator to fairly notify and at least attempt discussing reclamation needs?

III. E. 5(a)

The agency may consider “unique environmental issues to require additional bond.” The agency should allow and consider surface user input; the agency may find it very helpful to consider environmental concerns of those who actually work on or own the land in question.

III. E. 5(b)

“BLM may reduce the bond in the amount requested by the appropriate Surface Managing Entity.” – but why not have the ability to increase as well, if legitimate reasons are provided to do so?

III. F.

Before filing an APD, the operator “may file a notice of staking with BLM” who will then inform surface owner. Again, why is simple notice to those directly affected by operations only voluntary?

“BLM will invite the surface owner to participate in the onsite inspection. “ Within 7 days, all parties will “jointly develop a list of resource concerns that the operator must address in the APD. Surface owner concerns will be considered to the extent practical within the law.” Such a hedge in standard language unfortunately appears to reflect the agency true position regarding surface owner participation in the process.

IV.

While not being required, the operator is “urged to contact” the Surface Managing Entity before entering the land for operations. Since when are basic requirements for notification a hindrance? It should be mandated. This type of provision, in addition to the others, shows a basic lack of consideration by the agency to a landowner.

IV. c.

In order to protect watershed, an operator “must take measures to minimize or prevent erosion and sediment production.” The agency should be much more specific and careful herein to protect precious water values – a concern all over the western United States, and one that has been severely damaged by careless oil and gas operations.

VI. Operating on Lands with Private/State Surface and Federal or Indian Oil and Gas

-The BLM must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and related fed statutes – but still could consider and incorporate, as necessary, reasonable land owner concerns.

-Operator must make a “good faith effort” to notify the private surface owner before entry and obtain an access agreement form the surface owners. Such effort should be clear and mandated.

-If no agreement is reached, an operator must submit an “adequate” bond to “pay for loss or damages, such as loss of or damage to agriculture, other tangible improvements, or structures, as required by the specific statutory authority under which the surface was patented or the terms of the lease.” Min = $1000 ---This appears to continue reducing the amounts of bonding requirements to ridiculously low levels. As now, the practice unheard of in order areas of business will continue – an operator determining his own low bond. If BLM really wants to make this process fairer, they should come up with reasonable guidelines for bonding requirements. ---BLM should provide guidelines for the surface values and bonding amounts, rather than relying on vague, unspecified, ancient patent statutes.

-Surface owner has right to appeal the sufficiency of the bond. ---This provision has not, nor continues to have any real teeth. If it is the BLM’s responsibility to otherwise regulate and control operator actions, why can they not require reasonable bonds up front?

-BLM will invite the surface owner to the onsite inspection to “assure that their concerns are considered. Surface owner concerns will be considered to the extent that they are consistent with Federal land management policy.” This only mandates the surface owner be included in the onsite inspection – but not in the remainder of the approval and production process. The final comment that concerns of surface owners are only considered if consistent with Federal land management policy is vague and disheartening – particularly considering the tone and direction of this proposed rule.

Thank you for this opportunity to comment on your proposed changes to the Order. I also extend my support to the more detailed comments submitted by the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association (NMCGA).

While the proposed changes are inappropriate, I remain ready and willing to work with the BLM on changes to the Order that will be recognize state statutes and the problems that led to their creation. Private property rights can be protected while streamline permitting decisions and working toward a reliable energy supply.

Some Proposed Changes Dropped in Parks' New Rules The Bush administration issued a new rulebook for managing the national parks yesterday, jettisoning some changes it had considered instituting earlier this year that were criticized by park advocates. The roughly 200-page draft "management policy document" guides park supervisors on everything from protecting homeland security to allowing off-road vehicles to traverse nature areas. Park advocates had argued that an earlier version of the document, drafted by Deputy Assistant Interior Secretary Paul Hoffman, would undermine environmental protections. Park Service Director Fran P. Mainella said at a news conference that the rules reflect the agency's attempt "to be 21st century-relevant. . . . To manage parks emphasizing either conservation or enjoyment, to the exclusion of the other, imperils the national park concept." Environmentalists lauded the administration for abandoning some of the proposed changes that became public in August, including language that instructed park officials to try to mitigate air pollution rather than eliminate it. But they questioned other aspects of the new plan -- now subject to a 90-day public comment period -- citing language that makes good visibility in national parks an "associated value" rather than a "highly valued" resource....Judge tells Forest Service it went too far The U.S. Forest Service went overboard when it suspended mushroom picking, the cutting of Christmas trees and other activities to comply with a court order declaring it had to give the public a greater say in forest management decisions, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Clarifying an earlier ruling, U.S. District Judge James K. Singleton Jr., wrote that the Forest Service needs to take public comments and consider appeals on major projects, such as timber sales and new off-highway vehicle trails — not on minor things such as permits for hunting guides or gathering mushrooms. “This is the second time in a row the judge agreed with us and rejected the Forest Service’s utterly ridiculous interpretation of his order,’’ said Jim Bensman of Heartwood, a Midwest forest protection group that was a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging Bush administration changes to forest management rules. “I think this is pretty solid proof that the Forest Service was playing games with thousands of people’s livelihoods to try to get a political advantage.’’ The Forest Service had suspended nearly 1,500 activities nationwide, including cutting an 80-foot spruce in New Mexico to serve as the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree, the transfer of an operating permit for a ski area outside Los Angeles and permits to pick mushrooms on national forests in Oregon, arguing that they were all affected by Singleton’s July 2 ruling for the Eastern District of California....Group Sues Navy to Limit Sonar It Says Harms Marine Life Loud blasts of sound from the sonar systems of Navy ships are killing and disorienting whales and other marine mammals and should be far more strictly limited, an environmental group argued in a federal lawsuit filed yesterday. The suit, filed in California by the Natural Resources Defense Council, charges that routine use of mid-frequency sonar in Navy training and testing is illegal under federal law and is needlessly harmful. The group sued the Navy over its use of low-frequency sonar in 2002 and negotiated a settlement limiting its use. The new suit calls on the Navy to make changes to its far more extensive use of mid-frequency sonar, as well. "Military sonar needlessly threatens whole populations of whales and other marine animals," said Joel Reynolds, a senior attorney at NRDC. "In violation of our environmental laws, the Navy refuses to take basic precautions that could spare these majestic creatures."....Senate panel OKs oil drilling in Arctic refuge The Senate Energy Committee voted on Wednesday to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling as part of a broad budget bill to fund the federal government. Tapping the refuge's billions of barrels of crude oil is a key part of the Bush administration's national energy plan to boost domestic production. Environmental groups and many Democrats oppose drilling, saying that instead of threatening the habitat of wildlife in ANWR, lawmakers should look at ways to cut oil consumption with more fuel-efficient vehicle standards. The energy panel approved the ANWR drilling provision, 13-9. All Republicans on the committee, except Gordon Smith of Oregon, voted in favor of the plan. Democrats Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii also voted for drilling....Likely new plant species found on Guanella Pass Of all the moonworts out there - pumice, dainty and paradox, to name a few - the forked-leaf was least known. Not anymore. Found in July along a road on Guanella Pass in the Arapaho National Forest, the thumb- size cousin to a fern appears to be a new plant species. "We've had experts come look at the plants, and they all agreed - yes, this is new to science," said Steve Popovich, an Arapaho National Forest botanist. The moonwort was spotted by a wildlife biologist doing survey work before the start of a road regrading project in Clear Creek County....Norton says BLM revamping its policies on rights of way Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton said Wednesday that the Bureau of Land Management is revamping its right-of-way policies following a recent appeals court ruling that gives deference to the state's definition of what constitutes a county road as it crosses federal land. Norton, who was in Utah County to present grants to Utah and Idaho water districts and companies as part of her "Water 2025" initiative, said that because the appeals process is still playing out, it is still too early to draw any final conclusions about a September decision by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that essentially broadened the definition of a county back road. But she also said that the Denver-based appeals court "laid out the law in great detail. Barring more litigation, we will begin putting that order into effect.".... After decades in public service, John Turner returns home Wyoming is prized for its vast open spaces, abundant wildlife, solitude, clear air and clean water, for the freedom to wander and engage nature unencumbered by fees or commercialization. Such hardto- quantify values are priceless, as Wyoming's healthier, less frenzied, less crowded and less controlled quality of life gets harder and harder to come by. Attributes that differentiate Wyoming from Anywhere, U.S.A., motivate and characterize its people, and none more so than third-generation Jackson Hole resident John Turner, an advocate for Wyoming's wildness and global ecological integrity. One hardly pictures a former U.S. State Department attaché milling around a humble, homestead cabin in a tattered cowboy hat and worn denim jacket, waxing poetic about elk, asking ranch hands how many horses were shipped off today. But now that John Turner's back on the Triangle X, happily ignoring his five-newspaper morning and constant background televised media barrage ­ the information-overload lifestyle that defined his Washingtonian existence ­ he returns peacefully to ranching....Twilight on the trail Their names line the wall of the dim tack room: Bob, Rosie, Dusty, Biscuit, Stinger, Babe, Frog, Cindy, Roxy and a couple of dozen others. They are the mules, and a few horses, who have served with packer Betty Applebaker in the stock packing program headquartered at the U.S. Forest Service Fish Lake Guard Station over the past two decades. Soon, possibly next summer, there will be no more pack animals at Fish Lake and Applebaker will retire. McKenzie District Forest Service officials have decided to end the pack program at Fish Lake after some 95 years. Applebaker said pack teams have been part of the Forest Service operations since the agency was established in 1905. In addition to Fish Lake, in Oregon and Washington there are stock pack teams in the Okanogon and Wanatchee wilderness areas, two in the Umatilla wilderness, a large pack program in the Wallowa-Whitman district, and a smaller team on the Rogue River. Acting District Ranger Sandy Ratliff said that it is uncertain whether any stock will be at Fish Lake next summer.... 'Not everyone is cut out to be a cowboy' Take a drive an hour-and-a-half from Vail, from multi-million-dollar homes and money, to the northwest corner of Eagle County. Here paved roads turn to dirt, cell phones don’t work and working men favor cowboy boots and hats over Patagonia jackets. This is where Kip Gates lives, on top of a mesa, on a ranch that his family has owned for decades. This is where Kip works, between 10- and 14-hour days, six, sometimes seven days a week, just like his father did, and his father’s father. Kip is a fifth-generation cattle rancher, and for that, he is thankful. He gives thanks for his three children and for his family, and for the mountains that support and surround the 740-acre ranch near Burns that his ancestors homesteaded more than a century ago. He gives thanks nearly every time he steps outside the house he grew up in and sees the expanse of land where his forebears toiled. And he gives thanks every time he steps out of an ethereal aspen stand and into the light of an autumn afternoon. Kip is made even more thankful because he’s painfully aware that he’s a member of a dying breed....Through a Cowgirl's Lens Ask Marlene McChesney how long she's been riding and she looks dazed. McChesney, 49, doesn't remember a time when she wasn't on a horse. She makes her living on horseback, running cattle herds with the help of two cowboys. She knows horses. She raises quarterhorses, in fact. And she knows cows. It's those two things that have led to a surprising third career for McChesney - art photographer. By some twists of fate as quick as a mother cow headed back to her calf, McChesney found herself going beyond snapshots to an invitation to compete in one of the biggest cowboy art venues in the world, a spot in a gallery show during the upcoming National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas....

The BLM has proposed to change its regulations with regards to oil and gas company operations on split estate lands to supercede Wyoming's new split estate law. The comment period has been extended to October 25. Please take a moment to submit your comments in opposition to this rule change to:

This would leave the State Statute, which was passed overwhelmingly by the Wyoming State Legislature, to apply only to 1 million acres of land in Wyoming. Not only is this an attempt by the federal government to supercede state law, but among other things, the proposed changes would be onerous to private landowners in that it would:

1. Eliminate the 30 day notice period by requiring notice to the landowner at the time the BLM official calls to schedule a Notice of Staking. 2. Eliminate the landowner from the Joint Planning procedure which required the operator and landowner to sit down together to establish future plans that recognize the right to drill for oil and gas but also recognize the right of the private landowner to operate those lands in productive and profitable ways. This rule would allow the BLM official to finalize the operator's proposed plan of activity without identifying proposed wells, by only requiring surface "reclamation" rather than "restoration", and without the input of the private landowner. 3. Eliminate the requirement to compensate the landowner for all of the damages that he/she incurs from the drilling activity and instead limit the compensation to "damage to tangible improvement and growing crops." [This provision not only ignores the provisions in the Wyoming statute, but also in the 1981 Montana statute and the 1979 North Dakota statute regarding compensation for lost land value.]

Don't underestimate the power of your comments! Thank you for taking the time, one more time, to protect the private property rights of landowners impacted by underlying federal oil and gas development.

You can view the proposed regulatory changes here, and you and view the comments submitted by LAW here.

If you are interested in the split estate issue, or if you own property but not the mineral estate underlying the surface, you really need to comment on these proposed changes. Clearly, in their rush to increase oil and gas production, BLM is cutting the surface estate owner out of the process and pre-empting the twelve states which have passed legislation to protect the surface owner. My fellow New Mexicans should also remember we had split estate legislation which passed the House during the last session of the legislature and the Governor is on record to put it in his call for the next session. Please take the time to comment and help protect the property rights of the surface owner and the sovereignty of our state governments.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

NEWS ROUNDUP

First Wilderness Bill of 109th Congress Sent to President’s Desk The US House of Representatives today unanimously passed the Ojito Wilderness Act of 2005 – a measure to permanently protect 11,000 acres of colorful, wildlife-rich desert less than an hour’s drive from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The measure, which cleared the Senate last summer, now goes directly to the President for his signature. “We’re heartened that Congress passed this important conservation measure early in the session,” said John Gilroy, associate director of the Campaign for America’s Wilderness. “And we applaud the leadership of Senators Bingaman and Domenici and Representatives Udall and Wilson, who worked diligently to move it through Congress. The Ojito bill is just one of many wilderness bills conservationists hope to see enacted in this Congress. A bill to protect a third of Puerto Rico’s Caribbean National Forest as the El Toro Wilderness has cleared both the House and Senate in similar versions, and should move to the President’s desk soon. Measures to permanently preserve special wild places along California’s North Coast and Washington’s Wild Sky have also seen Congressional action. Legislation to create 300,000 acres of wilderness in the Boulder White Clouds Mountains of Idaho, part of an economic development and recreation bill, is scheduled for a hearing in the House next week. And citizens from all walks of life – ranchers, teachers, business leaders, members of the faith community and conservationists – are working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to protect wilderness on South Dakota’s prairie grasslands, Arizona’s Tumacacori Highlands, Virginia’s forested mountains, Nevada’s sagebrush expanses, and beyond....Lawmaker seeks to sell Western lands A Colorado lawmaker has seized upon the Gulf Coast hurricanes as a reason for the government to consider selling off land holdings in the West. A bill by Rep. Thomas Tancredo, R-Colo., orders the Interior and Agriculture departments to put 15 percent of the public land they manage onto the open market. Profits from the sales of millions of acres would be put into a special account to pay for expenses generated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as banked for future disasters. Selling off Western land would be a priority. National parks and Indian lands would be excluded. "Every year we acquire more and more land. It doesn't make any sense," Tancredo said. "Sagebrush rebel" lawmakers from the West perennially advocate land sales, but the concept usually doesn't go far in Congress. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Tancredo has recast the idea.... 'Comeback Wolves' is inspirational Local writer John Fayhee's essay is just one of the rousing stories in a collection of 50 Western writers' views on reintroducing wolves to Colorado. But it's a zinger. Like many of the writers in "Comeback Wolves," he talks about the female wolf that died June 7, 2004, trying to cross Interstate 70 near Idaho Springs. And that's how reading "Comeback Wolves" is. The essays and poems satisfy both the emotional and intellectual realms; each author has crafted the pieces so the writing could stand up in any literary anthology, all the while painting pictures of the big bad wolf or the wolf we need to reconnect us with our wild nature. Sections of the book review the power of legends and our culture's lingering fears and hatred of the "big bad wolf"; the need to update the destructive myths with new ideas; the wolves' wild howls that transport us to primal fears, as well as to a deep yearning for a restored world; ways we share the spirit and wisdom of wolves; and the practicalities of restoring wolves to Colorado....Montana, Idaho govs give wolf delisting ideas Earlier this month, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne sent a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton detailing five possible ways to delist wolves in the Northern Rockies. The governors essentially ask that federal protections be lifted from wolves in Montana and Idaho - and that management be passed to state agencies - while the Interior Department and the state of Wyoming continue a long-running dispute in the courts. All sides agree the 900 or so wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming have met biological benchmarks for recovery, they said. “Our task now is to see that the success of this recovery is not overshadowed and mired by inaction,” the governors said in the letter. The governors, though, urge the federal government to depart from past practice in delisting species, namely by lifting federal protections based on state boundaries rather than the more typical “distinct population segments,” which lumps species together based on the regions where they live, not state lines....Editorial: The Endangered Species Act The U.S. House of Representatives made the right move last month when they approved the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005 (TESRA). It is high time that the ineffective and outdated Endangered Species Act (ESA) be fixed. The ESA has been around since 1973. In over 31 years of its existence, only 10 species have been recovered. That equates to less than 1% of the species that have been listed as endangered. It is appalling that anything with such statistics has been kept around, and worse, used as a tool to control land and devastate livelihoods. In a recent conversation with a top Department of Interior official, he wisely made the analogy that we wouldn’t drive around an old car made in 1973 without expecting to do some repairs once in a while. Likewise, it is irrational to keep a law on the books that is over three decades old without allowing an occasional update. Ranchers have been among those who have had to bear the brunt of the heavy-handed restrictions that the ESA imposes on our land and our ability to operate our businesses. We have experienced it first hand as we have helplessly watched our livestock be destroyed by wolves and grizzlies, have had our water rights diminished for fish that may not even exist in our streams, and have had our federal grazing permits reduced year after year in the name of some species or another. All of this has been imposed on us without the benefit of sound science, and in the name of a law that is not truly conserving species....Editorial: Monument resulted from misused power Then, there are events like the designation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Southern Utah that should have been in focus from the beginning. Alas, former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt doesn't seem to understand that concept in his new book, "Cities in the Wilderness." In it, Babbitt reportedly confides with readers that the way the Grand Staircase was handled could have been better. That's an understatement. While the monument sits in Southern Utah, Babbitt and former President Clinton - desperate for environmental votes in the 1996 mid-term elections - made the announcement that year with the south rim of the Grand Canyon as the backdrop. As a result, 1.7 million acres of land was tied up, severely limiting the use of land to ranchers and others. Now, Babbitt is saying that the situation could have been handled better. How about handled at all? No local governments were notified prior to the announcement. The announcement was made far from the monument itself, showing that Clinton and Babbitt knew what kind of reception such a decision would receive in the area. It was a gutless misuse of the executive branch's power....Forest: Timber yield to multiply The amount of timber being cut from the Stanislaus National Forest is expected to nearly triple by the end of the decade, U.S. Forest Service officials said yesterday. The forest's five-year vegetation management plan released yesterday is designed to reduce trees and brush that could fuel a destructive wildfire, said Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor Tom Quinn. "We're very excited about the opportunity to accelerate the pace," he said. Some area residents who support logging say the new amount is not high enough, while environmentalists say the logging levels should be lower....Snowbowl trial hears from tribes As anthropology researcher Emory Sekaquaptewa began to recite a Hopi religious song into the microphone in the trial over snowmaking on the San Francisco Peaks, the court reporter quickly turned to the judge with a worried look. She asked if she should be attempting to transcribe the Hopi song into English. The judge replied no and the courtroom gallery chuckled. It was one of the few light moments in a day during which Hopis spent trying to explain their beliefs, their way of life and the importance of the Peaks to a judge and legal team charged with interpreting them under English law. The kachinas are spirits that primarily live on the Peaks, bring rain to farmers and appear in nighttime dances in Hopi villages at certain times of the year, Hopi Cultural Preservation Office Director Leigh Kuwanwisiwma said....U.S. Eases Rules On Oil, Gas Drilling In a push by the Bush administration to open more public land to oil and gas production, the Interior Department has quit conducting environmental reviews and seeking comments from local residents every time drilling companies propose new wells. Field officials have been told to begin looking at issuing permits based on past studies of an entire project, even though some of those assessments may be outdated. The instructions are in a directive from the department's Bureau of Land Management expected to cover hundreds of anticipated new drilling applications. The energy bill created new "categorical exclusions" under the 1970 National Environmental Policy Act for allowing new oil, gas and geothermal wells without first conducting environmental studies or soliciting public comment on them. The exclusions from normal permit requirements cover instances when less than 150 acres and no more than five acres in any one spot are disturbed and where nearby drilling has occurred in the past five years....Judge orders EPA to notify retailers, distributors, about pesticide concerns A federal judge has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to send letters to pesticide retailers, distributors and wholesalers in three states, outlining their responsibilities for notifying consumers about the dangers posed to salmon by the chemicals. The order from U.S. District Judge John Coughenour is a follow up to his January 2004 decision banning the use of pesticides near streams in Washington, Oregon and California until the EPA determines that 38 chemicals won't harm salmon. That ruling was upheld in June by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to the 20-yard no-spray buffer zones Coughenour ordered near rivers containing threatened or endangered salmon or steelhead, the plaintiffs wanted to ensure urban consumers in those areas are alerted to potential problems when they shop for garden products....Court Ruling Gives Hope to Klamath Salmon Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Bush administration’s water diversion plan for the Klamath River because it fails to protect threatened Klamath River coho salmon. The court sided with fishing and conservation groups that have been seeking a more balanced distribution of water needed to rebuild Klamath River salmon stocks. The court found the government’s plan illegal because it failed to provide adequate water flows for coho salmon until eight years into the ten-year plan. The court said, “Five full generations of coho will complete their three-year life cycles -- hatch, rear, and spawn -- during those eight years. Or, if there is insufficient water to sustain the coho during this period, they will not complete their life cycle, with the consequence that there will be no coho at the end of the eight years. If that happens, all the water in the world in 2010 and 2011 will not protect the coho, for there will be none to protect.”.... Last stand for Last Chance? The road east to this dying ranch town of 18 people passes the endless subdivisions of the swelling Denver metropolitan area. Then the interstate turns, and it's almost all rolling prairie. That empty space is what enticed various companies to buy up the land surrounding Last Chance and use it to dump Denver's sewage and hazardous waste. But now one of those dumps -- a facility that residents battled for years -- wants permission to accept radioactive waste from inside and outside the state. The ranchers and farmers who have watched their town slowly depopulate are mobilizing for what they see as Last Chance's last stand....Rodeo stars hang their hats in Oakdale Back in the day, a cowboy's hotel room on the rodeo circuit cost a half dollar--a cup of joe at the neighborhood coffee shop just pennies--and a good day of work lasted eight full seconds. These days, the memories last a lifetime, and can be found in frames on the wall of a museum in a town nicknamed the Cowboy Capitol of the World. To many people, Oakdale is known as a gateway to Yosemite Valley and the site of the Hershey Chocolate Factory. But those in cowboy circles know it's really where you go to find the world's best rodeo stars. The town, with a population of 17,000, is home to more retired rodeo world champions than anywhere else in the country. With the likes of Ace Berry, Harley May, Sonny Tureman, Ted Nuce and the Camarillo brothers, just to name a few, Oakdale holds some stories you could say gave the Wild West its name. Still today, many rodeo hopefuls dream of following in the footsteps of those who put Oakdale on the cowboy map, and still reside there today. The town boasts 25 world champion rodeo titles, and seven inductees into the Rodeo Hall of Fame....

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

NEWS ROUNDUP

Landowners Split on Species Act Burden Late last month the House passed legislation rewriting the Endangered Species Act, arguing that the 32-year-old law was ineffective and prevented American landowners from making use of their property. But the experience of Texas rancher Bob Long tells a somewhat different story: Many owners have learned to live with the law, even as other farmers and developers say it robs them of a livelihood. A decade ago, federal authorities told Long and other landowners living roughly 30 miles southeast of Austin that the law required them to help protect the endangered Houston toad, a small amphibian whose mating call resembles a tinkling bell. Long faced a choice: Resist or cooperate. He chose to cooperate. Long -- a prominent local Republican and preacher who distrusts government and refers to President Bush in casual conversation as "my president" -- has spent the past four years improving toad habitat on his ranch, putting fences around ponds where they breed and altering his cattle's grazing patterns. Under a "safe harbor" agreement he signed last year, Long is legally responsible to protect only the number of toads that were first found on his property, even if the population rebounds. Several neighbors have been watching Long's case, and at least one, rancher Jim Small, is following his example and also taking steps to protect the toads....S.D. tries to encourage coyote hunters As tens of thousands of hunters descend on a record pheasant population, it's a difficult time to be a coyote hunter. Mange has thinned out the population, fur prices are low and the best hunting requires a drive west of the Missouri River. But state officials and ranch communities are doing their best to keep the predator hunters happy. Without hunters, a resurgence in coyote numbers could mean more losses of calves and, in northwest South Dakota, sheep. South Dakota allows coyote hunting year round, with only a $5 varmint license or any other hunting license. And state game officials are trying to spread the word about a Web site that connects hunters with landowners who want cost-free coyote control. Many West River towns also hold coyote-calling contests, with prizes for the hunters who harvest the most predators....Hawaii adds stray cattle to open hunt list Hunters will be allowed to take aim at stray cattle next month in an effort to protect the state forest reserves. The state has worked with ranchers on the Big Island to fix their fences, but more than 100 cows are wandering the area that stretches along the Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge. On Nov. 5, the state will open the hunts on “feral and trespass’’ cattle found in the Hilo watershed area each weekend and through Nov. 26. Each licensed hunter will be permitted to kill and remove two cattle per day, with no season limit....U.S. Weighs Wyo. Request on Wolf Status The federal government said Monday that it will review Wyoming's request to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list after a 10-year effort to restore the predator's population. The government cannot move forward with a proposal to remove the wolf from the list until Montana, Idaho and Wyoming adopt wolf-management plans deemed acceptable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wyoming is the only state without an approved plan. Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the agency, said the announcement does not mean it has changed its mind about Wyoming's plan. Rather, he said, officials simply decided that some of the ideas raised by the state in a petition this summer deserved a closer look....Switch focus to key issues, Forest Service chief says The chief of the U.S. Forest Service said he worries "lesser issues," such as logging and road-building on public lands, are drawing too much attention and too many agency resources away from more serious threats to America's forests and grasslands. "I think we need to change the national dialogue to focus on the things that really count the most," Dale Bosworth said Monday night at a scientific conference at Yellowstone National Park. He said he sees the four greatest threats as fire, loss of open spaces, invasive weeds and unmanaged recreation. "Yet our national focus is on other issues, like whether too much timber is coming off national forest land or whether we're building too many roads," he said. "My biggest fear is that these other, lesser issues are absorbing all our energy, while more important things are falling by the way." Bosworth said the Forest Service faces longer-term challenges, as well. These include addressing a backlog of maintenance and restoration projects; dealing with the demands of a growing population on resources; better understanding climate changes; and encouraging a sound "consumption ethic."....Editorial: Let's get beyond categorical exclusion flap Is the U.S. Forest Service being, shall we say, a little mischievous as it goes about broadly interpreting a federal court ruling over the agency's use of so-called categorical exclusions? For the record, Forest Service officials say no. They say they're just trying to be careful to be absolutely sure they comply with the ruling. But environmental groups behind the legal case say the Forest Service is over-applying the court order - and needlessly throwing into question hundreds of projects they never intended to sidetrack. Here's the background: These categorical exclusions have been used in the past by the Forest Service to approve a variety of small projects that run the gamut from repairing culverts to doing minor cleanup work in campgrounds. In essence, the law that allows these exclusions permits the agency to fast-forward through the normal environmental reviews on routine matters involving environmental impacts the agency has previously - and thoroughly - documented. We've expressed our opinion in the past that these exclusions can be a valuable tool for the Forest Service, and we still believe that's the case. But in July, a federal judge in California found that the Forest Service was using the categorical-exclusion process to improperly approve projects without public comment or appeals. The judge recently specified that his ruling applied nationwide....Editorial: Radicals Still Running Amok on Environment When Congress passed a law requiring formal environmental studies and reviews for forest projects, surely the purpose was to provide review of road building, large-scale tree harvests and other major projects. But environmental extremists have managed to litigate the law into something more far-reaching than intended, effectively shutting down even the smallest projects, such as Boy Scout trail maintenance projects and - get this - harvesting of the national Christmas tree. The problem stems from a case brought by Earth Island Institute against the Forest Service to stop a project to remove charred and damaged trees from the Sequoia National Forest as a fire-prevention measure. But the environmental group was not content to call a halt to work in that particular forest, and follow-up litigation yielded a friendly ruling from District Court Judge James Singleton, applying a requirement for full-blown environmental reviews nationwide. Its hands tied, the Forest Service announced that even the smallest projects would have to clear lengthy environmental reviews. No quick solution is at hand. But Congress could do a couple of things: First, it could swiftly pass legislation to exempt minor maintenance projects and events from environmental reviews. Second, the Senate could encourage the appointment of judges who are not inclined to expansively allow litigation to be used as a tool to achieve what cannot be promoted through elections and the legislative process....Power plant would utilize singed trees Trees damaged by the "Rodeo-Chediski" fire in eastern Arizona three years ago could find new life as fuel for a proposed power plant in Snowflake. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday that it will guarantee a $16 million loan to an Arizona businessman who wants to build a biomass electrical generating plant, which will create energy by burning timber and paper. Robert Worsley, sole owner of Snowflake White Mountain Power LLC, said he would put up the remaining $7 million to $10 million in cash needed to make the plant a reality. Worsley hired 75 loggers, who have begun removing 400,000 tons of singed trees, enough fuel to power 20,000 homes for four years, under a contract with the Forest Service....Heat and Drought Kills Trees in Southwest According to newly published research, a massive die off of pinyon trees throughout the Southwest was caused by higher atmospheric temperatures combined with drought and lowered pest resistance. While the trees ultimately succumbed to infestations of bark beetles, "it was the drought," said research team leader David Breshears, a biologist at the University of Arizona. "Beetles don't get trees unless the trees are really water-stressed" and unable to make enough pinesap to defend themselves against the insects, he said. Breshears, Neil Cobb, director of the Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Paul Rich, research scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in N.M. and their colleagues reported their findings this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences....Report details wildlife invasions on bases Military installations across the country are battling wild hogs, snakes and other trouble-making species, says a report being issued Tuesday by the National Wildlife Federation. "Terrorists or natural disasters jump to mind" when one pictures threats to military readiness and homeland security, said Heidi Hirsh, natural resources specialist for the U.S. Marine Corps., which funded the report on behalf of the Defense Department. "But few people realize that we also face the threat of non-human invaders." The report, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, looked at a dozen case studies to provide a sample of the problem. Among the findings:....USDA decides not to close FSA offices In a surpise move, U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided to set aside a plan known as “FSA Tomorrow,” which would have consolidated Farm Service Agency offices across the nation. Under the plan, about 713 of the 2,351 Farm Service Agency county offices in the country would have been closed. The goal was to modernize and streamline the way services are provided to farmers and ranchers. Money saved from the consolidation was to have been reinvested into FSA. No information was available from USDA today about why the agency had made an abrupt 180-degree turn on this issue. But an Oct. 14 Associated Press report revealed that Agriculture Undersecretary J.B. Penn told Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, about the decision when the two met during the Billings Livestock Auction....Burning Manure Pile in Nebraska Finally Goes Out It took nearly four months, but to the relief of neighbors miles around, a burning manure pile has been extinguished. David Dickinson, owner and manager of Midwest Feeding Co., said Wednesday that several weeks of pulling the 2,000-ton pile apart proved effective by late last week. "We got far enough through it, that it quit," Dickinson said. Dickinson's feedlot, about 20 miles west of Lincoln, takes in as many as 12,000 cows at a time from farmers and ranchers and fattens them for market. Byproducts from the massive operation resulted in a dung pile measuring 100 feet long, 30 feet high and 50 feet wide. Heat from the decomposing manure deep inside the pile is believed to have eventually ignited the manure....Owner of Horses Shot to Death Speaks A Fremont County family was coping with the loss of four horses on Sunday night…horses they say were like family. Three were found shot to death on Friday, and a fourth was injured and later had to be put down. So far they say they have gotten little information from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, but as far as they’re concerned this was a senseless act of violence, and they’re hoping whoever is responsible will be punished to the full extent of the law....Time traveling, on horseback I GLANCE AT FLOYD Gomez, then down at the scrubby arroyos below. Inexplicably, I feel a thousand years old. Floyd, in profile with his black hair braided, sitting motionless on a red-blond mare, could be a thousand years old. The bark of dogs and a horse's call rise on the breeze above Taos Pueblo, echoing in gently sloped juniper canyons, floating across imagined centuries. Everything around us feels ancient, even the air. "Our people, the Tuatah, have been settled here for more than a thousand years," Floyd tells me and my riding buddy, as we pause to admire the landscape. "The pueblo has remains of structures that are at least that old." He's talking about the northern New Mexico reservation, now a mile or so below, where residents ready for mealtime, cooling down their horses or calling in livestock, aware of the dusk settling around Sacred Mountain. An artist and master rider, Floyd is guiding us on a two-hour "spirit ride.".... Cowboy church rounds 'em up For Christians, church can be anywhere two or three are gathered in Jesus' name -- even the clay soil arena at the Kissimmee Valley Livestock Show building in Osceola Heritage Park. Rain or shine, the Rev. Gene Blankenship Jr. pulls up to the complex every first and third Thursday evening of the month to preside at the Cowboy Church of Central Florida. Extra services are added when the Silver Spurs Rodeo is in town, as it was in early October. The cowboy ministry, which is supported by New Hope Southern Baptist Church in St. Cloud, began six weeks ago, after several years of planning. Blankenship says he feels called to "outside evangelism" -- nontraditional approaches to saving souls. He heard about cowboy churches in the West and Midwest, and thought the concept might work in Central Florida, with its long tradition of "cracker cowboys." "Our goal is to reach those who enjoy the Western culture with the gospel of Christ, whether they're a working cowboy or a cowboy at heart," says Blankenship, 43, whose day job is running an audio-production company....A pioneer looks back at early McCook In June 1906, Mr. A. Barnett sat down at his desk and jotted down a few notes about his early days in McCook. This story is from these memoir notes (at Museum of High Plains), written about 1906 on Barnett Lumber Co. notepaper, found wedged behind a drawer of Mr. Barnett's desk after his death in 1938. As far as is known, these memoirs were never completed. In June 1882, nothing existed on the McCook town site to prevent an unobstructed view -- nothing more than an occasional cactus and a few sparsely grown blades of grass. Looking north from the Fairview Post Office, on the banks of the Republican River, not a tree or bush could be seen looking across the land but the sloping hill where McCook now stands. The ground had been plotted, the stakes driven marking off lots and blocks, but there was nothing that even a bird might rest on but a few scattered sunflower stocks -- and there were no birds.... It's All Trew: Since retirement, sorting things becomes pastime Seems like since I retired, I spend a lot of time "sorting" things. I don't recall having this problem before, but now I'm beginning to believe my goal in life is finally getting everything sorted out before the end. I have even established unofficial rules by which to sort. I have a must-keep, a might-ought-to-keep, a might-need-someday, and a trash category. I have learned the trash can doesn't need to be very large because even though I sort a lot and change categories, I seldom throw anything away. Items being examined usually fall into three categories: stuff you recognize, stuff you don't recognize, and stuff you have never seen before....

Monday, October 17, 2005

A judge obliterated Oregon's voter-approved property rights law Friday, uprooting the way the state plans its communities for the second time in a year. Marion County Circuit Judge Mary James ruled that Measure 37 violates the Oregon Constitution by favoring longtime property owners over those who have purchased land more recently. She also said the measure prohibits the Oregon Legislature from exercising its authority. The ruling was so sweeping, it will not only halt thousands of acres of rural development, but also may force property rights advocates to try a different approach if they want to weaken Oregon's land-use laws. State attorneys, who must defend voter-approved initiatives, will appeal Friday's ruling. Invalidating Measure 37 raises as many questions as it answers, Gov. Ted Kulongoski said in a statement, promising to ask key officials for advice on moving forward. Members of Oregonians In Action, which authored Measure 37 and had a similar ballot measure knocked down in court four years ago, said they were furious. Group leaders plan to attack what they consider rigid planning rules again on 2006 ballots, director David Hunnicutt said. "If this means a Measure 38, we'll be back with a Measure 38," he said. "At some point, the courts will understand that people deserve the right to have their property protected."....

A judge's ruling throwing out Measure 37 reopens the question of whether Oregon will resolve its struggle over land-use laws in the Legislature or force the fight back to the ballot box. A growing population has strained the nation's strictest zoning laws, creating more conflicts for property owners. Voters, in sympathy, twice since 2000 gave them more rights to develop their land, only to see courts strike down the measures. The first was dismissed on technical grounds. On Friday, Marion County Circuit Judge Mary James said Measure 37 violated the state and federal constitutions. Oregonians in Action, which authored both measures, says it will try again with voters in 2006. If the group succeeds, its opponents will bring the issue, once again, to the courts. Although the 2005 Legislature's attempt at compromises to Measure 37 disintegrated, lawmakers may have provided one glimmer of hope. They created a 10-member commission, known as the Big Look, charged with holding public meetings and bringing to the Legislature proposals for reformatting the entire land-use system. It would be the first comprehensive examination since voters approved the laws in 1973. That could allow for new rules that address the state's variety of geography and growth patterns, rather than a one-size-fits-all ballot measure....

Phone calls snaked across Oregon with the news: A judge just threw out Measure 37. Almost a year after voters approved the property rights law, Marion County Circuit Judge Mary James said it violated the Oregon Constitution. For more than 2,500 claimants statewide, questions abounded: Does the decision invalidate their requests for money or new development opportunities? Can they recoup their application fees? Does this doom their building plans? At the same time, neighbors concerned about the possibility of Measure 37 development celebrated. And professionals involved in the debate -- from lawyers to planning directors -- wondered how they would negotiate the aftermath. A sampling of what's being said: "For better or worse, we forged ahead. I always said, 'You never know when some jerk is going to jerk the rug out from under us.' Then, lo and behold, look what happened." -- John "Bard" Abrams, whose family recently filed a subdivision plan for a successful Measure 37 claim in Yamhill County "I am completely blown away, it's so great. People are going to actually stop, slow down and figure out how to make it right for the people who have incredible restrictions on them. And the people who just want to make a fast buck are out of the picture." -- Heather McCurdy, Hood River County farmer who was concerned about nearby Measure 37 claims "They've taken it away twice. I wonder, does it do any good for me to go down and vote? They just do whatever they want anyway. I could retire if I could sell my property. I sat on it for 34 years, thinking it was my retirement fund." -- Patricia Lawrence, who was considering filing a Measure 37 claim so she could divide her 8-acre property in Damascus....

Western Governors To Open Energy Symposium Gov. Brian Schweitzer is making reliable energy a priority for his administration and plans to broaden the spotlight this week with a Western energy conference expected to draw about 600 participants, including at least five governors. ``The Montana Symposium: Energy Future of the West'' kicks off Tuesday in Bozeman and features more than two dozen panels on a wide range of topics, including skyrocketing energy prices, the economic impact of energy development, environmental concerns, coal-to-gas technology and tribal perspectives on energy development. A highlight of the conference will be a panel Tuesday evening featuring Schweitzer, Govs. Jon Huntsman of Utah, Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming, Christine Gregoire of Washington, Ted Kulongoski of Oregon and possibly Joe Manchin III of West Virginia. Manchin, whose participation still was tentative Friday, was invited because his state is a leading coal producer and Schweitzer wants him to talk about effects of coal development....Coal-to-fuel plant proposal not environmentally sound, group says A coal-to-fuel plant like the one Gov. Brian Schweitzer has proposed for Montana would do little to decrease dependence on foreign fuel imports and would likely be a major source of air pollution, a memo prepared for a conservation group concludes. The memo from John Smillie, program director and researcher for the Western Organization of Resource Councils in Billings, contends a plant the size Schweitzer has been promoting in a number of recent national op-ed pieces would annually create thousands of tons of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, solid waste and other pollutants. It would also require huge amounts of water, Smillie said. His paper was prepared for the Northern Plains Resource Council....Mining laws threaten wilderness The ruddy slopes of 12,392-foot Mount Emmons loom over this town, drawing hikers, backcountry skiers and snowshoers. But to residents such as Jim Starr, they also stand for what is wrong with the nation's antiquated mining laws. Those laws allowed the Bush administration to sell 155 acres of public land on the "Red Lady" to a mining company for less than $900. The land has deposits of molybdenum, a gray metal used to make steel, alloys and lubricants. "It's a huge threat. If anyone did put a mine in there, it's hard to imagine that it would not destroy this area," said Mr. Starr, a lawyer and Democratic chairman of Gunnison County's board of commissioners. The sale was made possible by an 1872 mining law that lets the government sell, for just $2.50 an acre or $5 an acre, public lands that contain minerals. This land sale, known as a patent, gives companies absolute title to the property.... On the prowl? Wolf sightings and controversy on the rise in Eastern Idaho Scott Christensen had a hopper on his fly line and skulked the bank of Deer Creek, searching for a cutthroat-filled hole. But it was a fresh paw print in the mud along the small stream that caught his eye. It was much too large to attribute to any domestic dog. His buddy, Marv Hoyt, concurred. That afternoon last October, in a roadless area near Soda Springs, they were following the footsteps of a wolf. For Hoyt and Christensen, both with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, it was a thrilling discovery - a sign that a natural balance is slowly returning to the area's ecosystem. On the other hand, several Caribou County ranchers say they've spotted wolves here and are growing increasingly concerned about their sheep and cattle....Animals clash in Utah County In the hills near Soldier Summit in southeastern Utah County, sheep find ample forage. And here black bears find ample sheep. For about six weeks in the summer, black bears find the sheep irresistible and raise havoc for herders. "That's probably the highest concentration of bear and sheep in the state," said Mike Bodenchuk, director of Wildlife Services in Utah, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Utah ranchers run about 270,000 range sheep, and about 15,000 in Utah County. About a third of those belong to Wilson Brothers Livestock. Don Wilson, 40, of Salem grew up in his father's sheep business and now is a part owner of the outfit, which runs about 5,000 sheep on national forest grazing allotments on the aspen and pine dotted mountain slopes of the White River drainage. This summer they lost about 200 sheep, most of them lambs, to black bears....Sen. Enzi pressing for wolf, grizzly delisting Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., is pressing the federal government to remove wolves and grizzly bears in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho from the endangered species list. The process to pass management of wolves and grizzlies to the three states has been stalled too long, Enzi said, claiming wolves have "decimated" the state's wildlife and harmed ranchers. "Something must change," Enzi said in a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton on Tuesday. The senator asked for written assurances that the process to delist grizzlies will get under way this fall with a final decision early next year. If that's not possible, Enzi said, he'd like an explanation. "I have been told many times that we will move forward with grizzly bear delisting, and I am disappointed that this effort has not moved forward," Enzi wrote. "It is time to make delisting the grizzly bear a reality."....Wetlands aided by grazing Take a bunch of fat, lumbering cows and drop them in a meadow dappled with fragile vernal pools. Sounds like an environmental disaster in the making. But a study published this month suggests grazing might actually benefit seasonal wetlands and the tiny endangered shrimp that live within them. The study in the journal Conservation Biology examines grazing in California's Central Valley, including the Red Bluff area. Debate has raged for years over how to protect dwindling vernal pools from development and heavy grazing. But the argument has been oversimplified, say authors Christopher Pyke of the Environmental Protection Agency and Jaymee Marty of The Nature Conservancy. The public believes in a "false dichotomy" of ranchers whose cattle graze unmanaged vs. environmentalists who insist on putting a stop to it completely, the authors wrote. In reality, science lies squarely in the middle.... Pueblo sues over chairlift Tesuque Pueblo has asked a federal court to halt construction of a triple chairlift at the Santa Fe ski area. The tribe contends the lift will give skiers unfettered access to Tesuque's most holy shrines and locations. Tribal members conduct rituals and ceremonies at the sites that are necessary for the pueblo's survival, the lawsuit says. "Their presence in the area increases the risk that important shrines will be tampered with or destroyed," the lawsuit says. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Fe.... Forest Service wants project ruling lifted The U.S. Forest Service asked a federal judge to lift a ruling that it blames for holding up hundreds of small projects across the country, from cutting the Capitol Christmas tree to fishing trips. But conservationists say the Forest Service has gone far beyond the intent of the ruling and appears to be intentionally holding up trivial projects to create a public outcry. "It's clear to me that the Bush administration is trying to manufacture a political crisis," said Sean Cosgrove, a forest policy specialist for the Sierra Club. The controversy stems from a July 2 ruling in a lawsuit filed by environmental and conservation groups. U.S. District Judge James K. Singleton Jr. found that the Forest Service was improperly approving projects without public comment or appeals....Black-footed ferrets get new digs The black-footed ferret, one of America's most endangered species, has found a new home on the wind-swept plains north of Fort Collins among a sea of prairie dog mounds.It is appropriate because prairie dogs are the primary food source for these masked members of the weasel family. The 18,000-square-foot, $8 million National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center officially opened Thursday. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., who helped obtain congressional funding for the facility, was allowed the honor of releasing a 3-year-old male ferret inside a wire-mesh enclosed preconditioning pen. Rather than fleeing in horror at the sight of the cadre of photographers and onlookers circling the pen, the ferret leisurely squeezed out of the carrier like toothpaste from a tube, and nonchalantly slinked around the pen, rising on hind legs at times as if to pose for photos. “They really are inquisitive – which probably is one reason so many get picked off by coyotes and raptors,” said Mike Lockhart, Laramie-based recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s black-footed ferret program. The roofs of the cages are wire-mesh as well, the need for which was demonstrated by a golden eagle floating overhead as if lining up his next meal. “We leave them in the cage with pre-built prairie dog holes for 60 days to condition them before we release them in the wild,” Lockhart said....Feds clash over endangerment of species on South Shale Ridge Two federal agencies have clashed over the management of the 27,635-acre South Shale Ridge, about 40 miles east of Grand Junction near De Beque. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Grand Junction Field Office recently issued a document allowing oil and gas leasing in the area, claiming the activity will not harm endangered and sensitive plants in the area. But in a letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Western Colorado Field Office to the BLM, officials cautioned that oil and gas development in the area would lead to the listing of two local plant species under the Endangered Species Act. The De Beque phacelia and De Beque Milkvetch are both present in the South Shale Ridge, and the Fish and Wildlife Service has petitioned to list both species because of increased energy development. The Uinta Basin hookless cactus, another plant in the area, is already listed under the act.... Column: Nature cult's devious tactics exposed Nature cultists have been lying for decades about the supposedly "devastating" impacts of ranching, mining, lumbering, and just about any other productive use of the Western lands that you can think of. One of their favorite tactics is to post misleading photos of "damaged" lands on their Web sites -- blithely ignoring the fact that many ecosystems depend on large ungulates (today's cattle partially replacing yestersday's bison, elk or antelope) to trample grass seeds into the ground, fertilize and stir up creeks to promote insect hatches, etc. Down in Arivaca, Ariz., near the Mexican border, rancher Jim Chilton, 66, went on the Internet and was shocked to find a bunch of green extremists dubbed the Center for Biological Diversity had done the same job on him, posting photos which they claimed showed the harm Joe's 425 cattle were doing to his mountainous 21,500-acre leased alotment of U.S. Forest Service land. But this time, they'd picked on the wrong cowhand....Arizona joins fight over repair of canal What started as a canal-repair project along the California-Mexico border has blown up into an international legal dispute that threatens to undo recent progress in stretching water supplies along the Colorado River. Arizona has joined the fight, along with Nevada, to protect the canal project from claims that it would rob Mexican farmers of water they need and damage sensitive wetlands. At the center of the battle is a 23-mile section of the All-American Canal, which moves water from the Colorado River across Southern California for farmers in the Imperial Valley. Congress approved a plan in 1988 to line that section with concrete, reducing water lost to seepage. But the water that California considered lost had become a lifeline for farmers in the Mexicali Valley, just across the border. The canal water seeped into the valley's groundwater system and was being pumped from wells to irrigate crops in an otherwise poor region.... Ranchers circle the wagons on encroaching development Ranchers like Joe Tonsmeier feel a sense of loss when they see the survey crews pacing neighboring land. Even at his secluded Hayden Creek ranch, some 20 miles east of Salmon, people knock on his door, asking him to break off just a small chunk of his property. The amount of money the would-be subdividers offer is staggering, Tonsmeier said, and it's all too tempting for someone struggling to make a living from the land. So Tonsmeier and other Lemhi County ranchers and residents have formed what they see as the best chance to save the valley's open space and agrarian lifestyle, the Lemhi Regional Land Trust. The group is raising money to give ranchers an alternative to selling their land piecemeal to developers. Tonsmeier hopes to show agricultural landowners how a conservation easement can offer ranchers capital, or significant tax advantages, without breaking up the ranch. "When I talk about conservation easements, I see cautiousness in most people," Tonsmeier said. "They think an easement will limit their operation or force them to offer access to their land. The truth is they'll be able to ranch the land, and they don't have to let anyone on their property if they don't want to."....U.S. court upholds decision allowing live Canadian cattle across border A U.S. court has denied an appeal from protectionist American ranchers that could have reclosed the border to all live exports of Canadian cattle. Late Thursday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle, Wash., ruled that it would not review a July 14 ruling overturning a two-year ban on young cattle imports due to mad cow disease. The farm lobby group R-CALF, backed by six U.S. states, had asked for the review. "That certainly closes the loop," said John Masswohl of the Canadian Cattleman's Association.... Cowboy Hat Prices Soar Due to Fur Shortage But good quality beaver and rabbit furs — which are used to make felt for the hats — are increasingly hard to find, making it more expensive to be a well-dressed cowboy. A top-grade hat can run as high as $6,000 today. "It used to be you could pay $30 for a hat and it never leaked. Now you pay $300 and as soon as it clouds up, it leaks," complained cowboy Bill McCoin, 55, a hired hand at a local cattle auction. At the high end, for hats starting at $800, the felt is made entirely of beaver. But at the lower end for hats in the $250 range, the felt is often mixed with rabbit fur, mostly from Europe, where rabbits are raised for meat and fur traders bid on the skins after the animal has been butchered. The drop of the dollar against the euro has made even the inferior fur expensive for American hatmakers....Cowboy Culture What does it take to be a real cowboy? "What really makes a cowboy is hard work, tradition and work ethics. That's what it takes to make a ranch hand," said photographer Gene Peach, who has joined with bestselling author Max Evans to produce "Making a Hand: Growing up Cowboy in New Mexico" (Museum of New Mexico Press, hardcover, $39.95, www.nmpress.org). The book was an outgrowth of an exhibition organized by the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces which showcased Peach's photographs of children from 50 ranching families throughout the state. The photographic exhibit is now on a national museum tour that will continue for another three years. "Most of the images in the book were in the exhibition. We've shot a few more," said Peach, who traveled thousands of miles throughout New Mexico to document the lives of children, some as young as 6 or 7, who had already "made a hand" and become accomplished contributors to their families' ranching operations....A helluva ride! They may worship the trailblazing spirit of the Old West, but the Cowboy Artists of America have never claimed to be breaking new ground. When four Arizonans founded the group at a Sedona tavern in June 1965, they vowed to carry on the tradition of Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, the painters who defined the popular image of the American frontier. In the late 19th century, their work portrayed an era that was already past, in a style (realism) that arguably was made obsolete by the invention of the camera. Yet the four-decade journey of the Cowboy Artists is an unbridled success story. They created a market for Western art that, though probably past its peak, is still avid - and wealthy - enough that the most admired Cowboy Artists can charge six-figure prices for their best work. "For a group to stay together as long as they have, and have their shows growing and growing every year in terms of prices and people collecting it, it's a great story, and it's been great for the Western-art market as a whole," says Maryvonne Leshe, managing partner for Trailside Galleries in Scottsdale, which represents several Cowboy Artists....On the Edge of Common Sense: Chaos reigns along fault lines Some Future headline: "Governor Calls For Mandatory Evacuation!" California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in response to the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast, has declared the San Andreas Fault line, and its tributaries an eminent disaster area of enormous proportions. He is exercising executive privilege and ordering the evacuation of all persons living, camping or touring within 100 miles on either side of the fault. He is asking the federal government to assist with funding and facilitating this relocation....